Information For Authors

Interested in submitting to this journal? We recommend that you review the About the Journal page for the journal's section policies, as well as the Author Guidelines. Authors need to register with the journal prior to submitting or, if already registered, can simply log in and begin the five-step process.

In addition to these resources, please note the following Ethics, AI, and Advertising policies (FSR's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement):

Introduction
Financial Services Review is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against any publication malpractice. All authors submitting their work to the journal for publication as original articles attest that the submitted works represent their contributions and have not been copied or plagiarized in whole or in part from other works. The following outlines the journal’s standards and policies regarding ethical publishing behavior.

The policies described below were adapted from the Authorship and Contributorship section of the ICMJE Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts. The malpractice statements align with Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (Committee on Publication Ethics, 2011). 

Editor Responsibilities

Publication Decisions

The editor is responsible for deciding which of the papers submitted to FSR will be published. The editor will evaluate manuscripts without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy. The decision will be based on the paper’s importance, originality and clarity, and the study’s validity and its relevance to FSR’s scope. Current legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism will also be considered.

Confidentiality

The editor, associate editors, and associated editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisors, and the publisher (The Academy of Financial Services), as appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted paper will not be used by the editor or the members of the editorial board for their own research purposes without the author's explicit written consent.

Author Expectations

It is expected that the authors listed on a submission (a) made an important contribution to the study's conception and design or data analysis and interpretation of data; (b) wrote and/or revised the manuscript; (c) approved the final version of the manuscript; and (d) worked with integrity and honesty. The corresponding author should be familiar with the original data and take responsibility for the integrity of the manuscript. If the final paper, or part of the paper, is found to be faulty or fraudulent, all co-authors may share responsibility. 

Conflicts of Interest

Authors are required at the time of submission to disclose any real, perceived, or potential conflict of interest, financial or otherwise, including but not limited to consulting activities, business ownership, equity interests, patent-licensing arrangements, lack of control of the decision to publish, etc. Authors of invited papers must disclose whether there is a perceived or potential conflict of interest related to ongoing work that has occurred in the last three years. Failure to report actual or perceived conflicts of interest before peer review may result in publication delays or rejection of the manuscript.

Data Access and Retention

Authors could be asked to provide the raw data of their study together with the paper for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available if practicable. In any event, authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least ten years after publication (preferably via an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data center), provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and legal rights concerning proprietary data do not preclude their release.

Plagiarism, Falsificatioin, and Fabrication

Manuscripts must not include plagiarized, fabricated, or falsified content. Using material from another person or source, without attribution, and submitting it as one's own is considered plagiarism. Making up or altering information to agree with one's conclusions, including altering data, is fabrication or falsification.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the FSR editor or publisher and to cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper in form of an erratum.

Duplication of a Publication

Financial Services Review accepts only original manuscripts. No part of a submission may be under consideration for publication elsewhere nor may the manuscript have been published previously (except as a brief abstract). Using material (including tables, figures, and data or extended text passages) from one's own prior work, without documentation (e.g., an appropriate citation) is considered a duplicate publication—self-plagiarism—and is not allowed.

Prior Publication(s)

Material published or posted online by an author before submission is considered to be a prior publication. Examples include (a) papers/articles or parts of papers/articles published in digital or print format; (b) papers/articles, book chapters, and long abstracts containing original data, including proceedings publications; (c) posters containing original data disseminated beyond meeting attendees (i.e., published on a website or blog). Doctoral dissertations available through an institutional repository or by a third party on behalf of a college or university are not considered prior publication.

Reviewers' Responsibilities

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

The peer-reviewing process assists the editor and the editorial board in making editorial decisions and may also serve the author in improving the paper.

Promptness

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.

Confidentiality

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be disclosed to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. 2

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify cases in which relevant published work referred to in the paper has not been cited in the reference section. They should point out whether observations or arguments derived from other publications are accompanied by the respective source. Reviewers will notify the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Editor and Reviewer Conflict(s) of Interest

All Editors, Associate Editors, and Editorial Board members, as well as Reviewers, should avoid making decisions on papers for which they may have a potential conflict of interest, financial or otherwise. Reviewers who are collaborating with a known author, or who are working on very similar research, must recuse themselves from reviewing a paper for which they have a conflict.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted Tools in Submission to Financial Services Review

Authors are obligated to be transparent and accountable regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the preparation of their manuscripts. The Financial Services Review editorial board recognizes the potential value of AI and AI-assisted tools in the research and publication process; however, it is each author's responsibility to document the use of AI to ensure transparency. Please note that this policy does not refer to the use of AI data analytic tools and techniques, which should be described in the manuscript's methods section.

The following policies have been adopted by Financial Services Review:

  • Ethics: AI or AI-assisted tools may assist in generating text, data analysis, and other tasks. The responsibility for the content of the paper remains with the human authors. All AI-generated text must provide proper documented attribution to previously published work. Authors are ultimately responsible for the content of the paper and will be held accountable if ethical situations arise.
  • Authorship: AI and AI-assisted tools do not qualify for authorship and cannot be listed as an author.
  • Referencing: The use of AI or AI-assisted tools must be properly referenced in the Methods section of the manuscript.
  • Acknowledgments: When AI is used in the preparation of a manuscript (writing or revising text), this must be disclosed and acknowledged. Authors may be asked to supply the method of the application (e.g., query structure, syntax) if this is not already specified in the manuscript. The following statement can be used for disclosure:
    • [Tool Name, Version, and Model] was used for [list actual process for which AI was used and reason for its use]. The authors take full responsibility for the content presented in the paper.
  • Figure Preparation: Financial Services Review does not allow fabrication, alteration, or deletion of features from any image published in the Journal. Similar to the use of AI in other areas of manuscript development, authors must disclose the use of AI software in the generation of figures and other content.
  • Exclusions: This policy does not apply to AI tools solely focused on grammar enhancement, such as grammar and spelling checkers (e.g., Grammarly, Wordtune, etc.), or reference managers (e.g., Endnote, Mendeley, etc.).

Please review the Journal's specific AI policies under Author Guidelines

Peer Review and AI

Reviewers are prohibited from using large language models, such as ChatGPT, or any similar AI technology, in the process of constructing their review of a manuscript. It is expected that reviews will be based on each person's knowledge and expertise. Financial Services Review may utilize AI checkers, automated analyses, and third-party services to verify the legitimacy of reviews. Any violation of this policy may result in the termination of the reviewer's relationship with the Journal.

The Identification and Handling of Allegations of Research Misconduct

Financial Services Review is committed to upholding the highest standards of research integrity and ethical conduct. The following procedures describe the Journal's approach to identifying and addressing allegations of research misconduct.

  • Reporting Allegations: Anyone with knowledge or suspicion of research misconduct is encouraged to report it to the Journal's editor.
  • Preliminary Assessment: Upon receiving an allegation, the editor or designated Editorial Board member will conduct a preliminary assessment to determine the veracity of the allegation. If the allegation appears credible and specific, an investigation will be initiated.
  • Investigation Process: The editor will appoint an impartial committed, comprised of at least one Associate Editor and two Editorial Board members, to conduct an investigation. The committee will collect and review relevant evidence, including data, coding syntax, and other documentation before interviewing the relevant parties.
  • Confidentiality and Protections: Confidentiality will be maintained throughout the investigation process to protect the privacy and reputations of the accused, the person who reported the irregularity, and the investigative committee.
  • Opportunity to Respond: If evidence of misconduct or an error is noted, the paper's author(s) will be informed of the allegation(s). They will have an opportunity to provide a response and present their case to the committee. The committee will consider all responses and evidence before making a determination.
  • Decision and Consequences: Based on the committee's findings, the editor, in consultation with the Journal's Advisory Board and the President of the Academy of Financial Services (the Journal's publisher), will make a determination regarding the extent of misconduct. If research misconduct is confirmed, appropriate consequences will be initiated, which may include retraction of the publication, a sanction, and/or reporting the occurrence to relevant stakeholders.
  • Appeals Process: All parties involved in the investigation have the right to appeal the decision. Appeals must be submitted in writing.
  • Notification and Reporting: The outcome of the investigation will be communicated to relevant stakeholders, including funding agencies and institutional authorities.

Advertising Policy

Financial Services Review is funded and published by the Academy of Financial Services, a non-profit research and education association of scholars and practitioners. The Journal does not accept advertisements. The Academy of Financial Services does receive individual and corporate support to help offset annual conference expenses. However, this support is not related in any way to the editorial decision-making process of the Journal.